APPLES 



153 



of the trees. On larger areas the position 

 of the trees is usually determined hy 

 sighting across the field or by the use 

 of a modified corn-marker. Sometimes a 

 plow is used to open up a furrow in both 

 directions. 



Before attempting to lay out a field 

 that is irregular in outline, it must first 

 be squared off in such a way that the 

 rows running across the field will be at 

 right-angles to the rows running the other 

 direction. A base line running along a 

 straight side of a field is first chosen. 

 If there is no straight side, a straight line 

 running along the longer side of the field 

 may be established. At right-angles to 

 this line and near each end. may be pro- 

 jected two other lines. On small areas 

 this may be done with two straight edges 

 and a carpenter's square, but on large 

 tracts this method is not sufficiently ac- 

 curate. The best and most reliable method 

 is that described in Fig. 3. At the de- 



Fig. ?•. Diaffram Showinsr Method of Squaring 

 Off an Irreprular Field. 



sired point (A) on the base line a stake 

 is set, and exactly 60 feet from this on 

 the same line another stake (B) is set. 

 By stretching a string 80 feet long from 

 the first stake (A) and another string 

 100 feet long from the second stake (B) 

 and by bringing the two ends together 

 at (C) the position of the third stake 

 may be determined. Then the desired 

 line is drawn from A through C to the 

 other side of the field. The same opera- 

 tion is repeated near the other end of the 

 field. The distance between the rows, one 

 way. may be marked off on the projected 

 lines and the distance between the rows, 

 the other way may be indicated on 

 the base line and also on the line 



parallel to it on the opposite side of the 

 field. The rows in both directions can 

 be extended to the margin of the field. 



On hilly lands it is often very difficult 

 to get the trees lined up properly. In 

 such cases, telephone wire is sometimes 

 employed to stretch across the field. To 

 indicate the position of the trees a smaller 

 wire may be wound around and soldered 

 to the larger one at the required dis- 

 tances. The telephone wire is stretched 

 tightly and a stake set at every point 

 indicated by the soldered wire. In the 

 hollow places, where the wire Is far above 

 the ground, a plumb-bob may be necessary 

 to find the exact position where the stake 

 should be set. Twine, on account of its 

 stretching character, is'^wnsuitable to this 

 purpose. The main point in measuring 

 off uneven land, is in keeping the meas- 

 uring line level. On steep hillsides, where 

 cultivation is impracticable in any way, 

 except parallel with the slope, the trees 

 are often planted on terraces. These 

 terraces are formed by leaving an un- 

 plowed strip of land along or between 

 the rows. Where the slope is irregular 

 it is very difficult and almost impossible 

 to line up the trees properly and at the 

 same time have the terraces follow the 

 lines of trees. In such cases, the terraces, 

 with a row to each terrace, are allowed 

 to follow the contours of the slope, and 

 the trees thus are arranged in curved, 

 instead of straight rows. Where the slope 

 is steep the terraces are made somewhat 

 farther apart so that the trees will not 

 be too close together. In view of the 

 abundance of available land that is well 

 suited to orcharding, it is seldom advis- 

 able to select such land that cannot be 

 regularly laid out and conveniently cul- 

 tivated. 



When laying out the land for the quin- 

 cunx system of planting, lines should be 

 drawn midway between the other rows 

 in both directions; that is, when the 

 quincunx group forms a square 40x40 

 feet, the field must be marked out by 

 lines 20 feet apart each way. The stakes 

 for the trees of the even rows are set 

 opposite the spaces of the odd rows. 



The setting of the stakes for the hexa- 

 gonal system seems to be somewhat more 



